Government Shutdown Creates Cybersecurity Nightmare

Nov 7, 2025 5:48 PM ESTby Michael Turner • 3 min read

According to Wired, the Congressional Budget Office suffered a hack during the government shutdown that’s now stretched over five weeks. The breach involved a suspected foreign actor infiltrating the agency that provides nonpartisan financial data to lawmakers. CBO spokesperson Caitlin Emma confirmed they’ve implemented additional monitoring but wouldn’t say whether the shutdown impacted their technical personnel. Meanwhile, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency has been cutting staff both before and during the shutdown. Former NASA cybersecurity researcher Safi Mojidi warns that while cloud systems provide some baseline security, there are still major concerns about neglected maintenance and monitoring during the shutdown.

The Cloud Security Illusion

Here’s the thing about all those federal systems running in the cloud during the shutdown. They’re not exactly running themselves. Sure, cloud providers handle the infrastructure security, but who’s monitoring for suspicious activity? Who’s applying critical patches when new vulnerabilities emerge? Basically, we’ve got empty offices with digital systems that still need human oversight.

And let’s be real – federal cybersecurity wasn’t exactly perfect before this mess. CISA was already reducing staff, and now they’re cutting more during the shutdown. It’s like removing the lifeguards while the sharks are circling. The spokesperson gave that classic non-answer about “continuing to execute on its mission” while blaming Democrats for the shutdown. But mission execution without proper staffing? That’s just wishful thinking.

nightmare”>The Coming Backlog Nightmare

Think about what happens when federal workers eventually return. They’re not just walking back into smoothly running operations. There will be months of unpatched systems, unmonitored alerts, and neglected security updates. The backlog will be absolutely massive.

And here’s what really worries me – some of this damage might not be immediately visible. A foreign actor could have planted something that won’t activate for months. Or created backdoors that won’t be discovered until it’s too late. When you’re talking about agencies handling everything from economic data to social security, the stakes are incredibly high.

Uneven Preparation Across Agencies

Not every federal agency is equally vulnerable though. Some moved to modern cloud infrastructure with robust automation. Others are still running legacy systems that require constant babysitting. The problem is we don’t know which is which, and neither do the attackers – they’re probably probing everything right now.

Remember that Washington Post report about the CBO breach? That’s just the one we know about. How many other agencies are dealing with similar incidents that haven’t been made public? The legal challenges are mounting too – check out the AFGE lawsuit that highlights how this shutdown is affecting federal operations across the board.

So where does this leave us? With a ticking time bomb that could detonate long after the shutdown ends. The real cost might not be measured in missed paychecks or closed national parks, but in compromised systems that affect national security for years. And honestly, that’s a price we really can’t afford to pay.

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